photo of estuary at Crissy Field at sunset

Sustainability and Resilience

We believe: The region should be environmentally just, carbon-neutral,
and resilient to climate change and earthquakes.

Our Goals

• Decarbonize buildings.

• Make the region resilient to sea level rise and other climate-driven natural disasters.

• Improve communities’ resilience to earthquakes.

transect of a bayshore neighborhood with ground water beneath the soil

SPUR Report

Look Out Below

Bay Area cities planning for sea level rise need to address another emerging hazard: groundwater rise. Our case study on East Palo Alto offers recommendations applicable to other vulnerable communities along the San Francisco Bay shore.
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illustration of houses plugging into the electricity grid

SPUR Report

Closing the Electrification Affordability Gap

New Bay Area regulations are ushering in a transition from polluting gas furnaces and water heaters to zero-emissions electric heat pumps. SPUR’s action plan shows how to make this transition affordable for low-income households.
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photo of Ocean Beach in San Francisco

Initiative

Ocean Beach Master Plan

San Francisco's Ocean Beach faces significant challenges. SPUR led a public process to develop a comprehensive vision to address sea level rise, protect infrastructure, restore coastal ecosystems, and improve public access.
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historic photo of houses damaged in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Initiative

The Resilient City

We know that another major earthquake will strike San Francisco — we just don’t know when. SPUR's Resilient City Initiative recommends steps the city should take before, during, and after the next big quake.
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Updates and Events

Bold Moves on Building Electrification in the San Francisco Bay Area

News /
The Bay Area’s three largest cities made headlines recently when they passed bold new rules to phase out fossil fuels in buildings. San José, San Francisco and Oakland now have plans to make most new construction all-electric. These actions will make the air cleaner to breathe and slash the region’s contributions to climate change.

SPUR Supports the Expansion of San José's Natural Gas Prohibition Ordinance

Advocacy Letter
In 2019, San José showed extraordinary climate leadership in prohibiting natural gas in new residential construction, joining a regional movement to decarbonize the built environment. Electrifying buildings brings multiple benefits: it reduces San José’s climate emissions and increases energy resilience in the face of increasing wildfire threats. All-electric buildings eliminate the air pollutants from natural gas combustion and are more cost-effective to build.

SPUR Supports New Vision for Coyote Valley in San José General Plan

Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports the staff recommendations related to Coyote Valley as outlined in the October 22 staff memo. We urge the Task Force to embrace all of the staff recommendations. They will go a long way in changing both the regulatory framework and the assumptions of the real estate market so that San José can refocus its plans for growth inward, rather than outward.

Funding California’s Fight Against Climate Change

News /
What could California do to limit climate change and clean the air if the state had $30 billion to spend in the next 10 years? Climate change policy leaders gathered to tackle this question at an October 1 convening organized by SPUR and Move LA. On the table is a potential ballot measure that could go before California voters in November 2022.

One Step Closer to Expanding Healthy Food Incentives in California

News /
A new request for applications may not, on the face of it, seem like a big deal. But, when the California Department of Social Services posted its request for applications for the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Integration Pilot Project in early September, it marked an important milestone in SPUR’s long-term goal of making healthy food incentives a permanent supplement to the CalFresh/SNAP program.
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